My sweet boy, Chevy, the Goldendoodle, got very sick and was put down yesterday. This dog was the sweetest dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of being friends with, and I’ve had a lot of dogs. He most likely will be my last large dog. We are getting older, and as you know, large dogs need a lot more attention …
As I see it: a view through the special educator’s lens
There are some things that happen in public education that I will never understand. I realize I come from a background very different than most public school teachers. I was fortunate to start my teaching career in small, private schools, where imagination and creativity by the teacher was encouraged. Ironically, I started out teaching in a rigorous program in the …
What makes a writer great
There’s not a reputable writer out there that doesn’t want to be the best in their craft. One way we scribes measure our success is by how many awards or best-sellers we have under our belt. Others measure it by how many books they’ve published or sold. A top-ten Amazon ranking, a New York Times Best-Seller list: what writer hasn’t …
My New Life as a Special Education Teacher
Yes, I know, I know. It’s ironic. I’ve not had much to do with public schools during most of my adult life. I did attend public schools as a child K-12th grade, but I chose to homeschool my children for various reasons. One of them being the school districts we lived in doing a poor job of servicing children with …
A Pair of Miracles: Isaac got a job!
When your identical twin brother has a job and you don’t, it’s a tough row to hoe. Let’s rephrase that. When your identical twin brother with autism has a job and you have autism, and you don’t have a job yet, it’s super hard to process and understand. Last week Isaac started his new job! This has been a long road for …
The (not so) glamorous life of a writer
Hello, beautiful people! Today is LAUNCH DAY! Yep, today is the day my new book, A Pair of Miracles, the story of my twins’ journey with autism, ventures out into the great big world. (Did you get your copy yet? Huh, huh, huh, did ya, did ya, did ya?) Okay. Maybe a bit too much coffee this morning??? Since so …
It’s almost time for lunch, er, I mean, launch!
You know me. I’m always thinking food… But seriously, tomorrow is Launch Day! :::Cue balloons and music::: A Pair of Miracles will be available everywhere books are sold all over the world. Wow. Think of it. :::Karla sits and ponders::: Actually, I can’t wrap my mind around that internationally-available thing. So, I’m going to have a live feed pajama party …
What do I have in common with a breakdancing gorilla?
Did you hear that? That was me breathing a huge sigh of relief. I finally finished four huge papers for my Master’s Degree. I’ll have a few weeks off and then I’ll be back to the grind of writing papers again. In the meantime, I may or may not have celebrated like this exuberant gorilla. I’ll wait while you watch: …
Proof: teaching sign language and communication works
In my last post, Teaching autism: first things first, I talked about the importance of teaching sign language and communication skills first. After I posted the video, I found the following inspiration: I’m passionate about kids getting early intervention and getting it consistently. Indiana education systems need to wake up. There are too many students who don’t get the chance …